Tag Archive
Ken Shane

What record do you think of when someone mentions the Coasters? Most people would have said “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” or “Poison Ivy.” That was before Quentin Tarantino entered the picture with his 2007 film Death Proof. The ...

We’re headed back to Philadelphia for this week’s Soul Serenade, and why not. If forced to choose, I’d have to say that Philly Soul is my favorite of all the various soul incarnations. It might have something to do with ...

Those of you who have been following along may have noticed that there was no Soul Serenade column last week. It was the first time that the column didn’t appear in its weekly spot for nearly five years, but there was a very ...

Do you know who Joseph Arrington, Jr. was? If I told you where he was from you would figure it out quickly. He was born in Rogers, Texas in 1935 and moved to Baytown with his mother when his parents divorced. In ...

Don Covay left us recently. He left behind a splendid resume that reflected his work as a singer and songwriter. Covay never allowed himself to be pigeonholed into one genre or another. His music reached out to fans of soul, R&B, and ...

Popular songs are a funny thing. What is it that makes some hit songs live on forever, while others are forgotten with the passage of time? Is there something in the melody or lyrics that give a song its staying power? I ...

This has been a bad week. Do you want to know how bad? Well the blizzard that we had in New England on Monday and Tuesday was the highlight of the week so far. That bad. It can only get better from ...

I read an interview with Bobby Womack a few years ago in which he said that when he first heard that the Rolling Stones planned to record “It’s All Over Now,” he was not happy. He asked his manager to tell Mick ...

It occurs to me that perhaps I spend too much time bemoaning the state of the world in this column which is, after all, supposed to be a joyous celebration of classic soul music. Frankly, I’m not sure how people manage to ...

Let me start by wishing you a very Happy New Year. As I said last week, it’s been a difficult year for many of us. Statistics tell us that the economy is getting better, but in my state, Rhode Island, you’d never ...

And so this is Christmas. I hope that this season of light has been good to you and those you love. Soon we’ll be marking the end of a year that could only be described as troubling. In addition to the nation’s ...

I’ve been posting this on Christmas Eve for the last few years. People seem to enjoy it, so I thought I would share it with you again this year. Consider it my little gift to everyone who has been so supportive ...

I saw the classic Temptations lineup at a local college in 1967. My date was a pretty girl named Mary who took the train all the way from Long Island to New Jersey in order to go to the show with me. ...

A lot of things have changed over the years, but some things have remained, albeit in a different form. As I write this I’m on a train headed for New York City. I left Rhode Island this morning for a trip that ...

There’s a lot of talk about girl groups, and rightfully so. Girl groups made some great music in the ’60s. But if you ever try to journey back to where it all started it’s inevitable that you will run into the Shirelles ...

I love this time of year. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, and the whole season between now and the end of the year seems magical to me. My original plan was to feature “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins ...

Alright, I’m late with this. What can I tell you? It’s six discs long, and unlike some other reviewers, I like to listen to the whole thing, maybe a few times, before adding my two cents. There’s been a lot written about ...

Statistics tell us that the economy is improving. The stock market is reaching new highs, lots of jobs have been created, and the unemployment rate is down. Here in Rhode Island however, it’s hard to see things getting better. The state has ...

There are a variety of ways that songs and artists move to the top of the list (yes, there is a list) of potential features for Soul Serenade. Sometimes it can be a simple as hearing the great opening riff of a ...

For my last column from New Jersey last week I chose to recognize my time there by featuring Madeline Bell, who is a native of Newark, the state’s largest city. Now that I’m back in Rhode Island it only seems fair to ...

Those of you who are regular readers of this column know that I have been in NJ on a writing retreat for about a month. This is the last column that I’ll be writing from NJ. I’m headed back to RI on ...

Let’s get this over with, right from the top. I am a Yankees fan. Go ahead, I know that haters gotta hate. The thing is, I’m not a fly by night bandwagon jumper. I’ve been a fan since I was seven years ...

I’m going to Philadelphia tomorrow. It’s exciting for me, so exciting that I’m writing the column a day early so that I can go. I haven’t been there since I moved to Rhode Island, which is closing in on four years ago ...

As you may recall from last week, I’m spending the month in the Atlantic City area, trying to recapture some of the magic of my youth here and turn it into a book. Soul music was a key element in my early ...

Things are going to be a little different this week. For one thing, I’m not in Rhode Island. I’m writing to you from Margate City, New Jersey (near Atlantic City), where I am doing a writing retreat for the month of October. ...

A little over a year ago I wrote about Jimmy Hughes who recorded a single called “Steal Away” in 1964. It turned out to be a very important record. Not only was it a Top 20 hit on the Pop chart, it ...

I’ve never been much of a roller coaster fan. To be honest, even though I know that a lot of people love the ride, I don’t get the appeal. The same goes for any of those rides that are fast and high. ...